Welcome to the fifth edition of Rate That Character Round Up!
Starting us off we have TheMangoViking’s first contribution, the classic racer Excitebiker:
Verdict:
While there is an identity crisis issue, he can easily stand out as he’s the only character who rides a bike. The fact that he’s known worldwide also boosts his chances, as Sakurai doesn’t like including characters that other regions aren’t familiar with. The fact that he was considered at one point also puts him above other contenders. — 75%
Then the next day, NantenJex looked at our first indie character, the lost robot boy Quote:
Verdict:
Ultimately, while Quote would fit into Smash quite well, and be a popular pick for many fans for gaming, he is not the next in line on the third party roster. There are more iconic and historically important characters waiting for their chance and many of them are exclusively from Japan which makes it easier for Sakurai to work with. — 20%
PushDustIn tags back in to give everyone’s favourite otaku assassin, Travis Touchdown, some love:
Verdict:
As far as third party characters who have a strong association with Nintendo go, Travis seams up there. He ticks almost all of the boxes to get into Smash. Snake got into Brawl after a personal request from Kojima, so history could repeat itself. Then again, with Suda being so vocal about it, it might be an indication it hasn’t happened yet. Perhaps if Suda bugs Sakurai enough, we can finally become the true number 1 assassin in Smash. — 40%
Bouncing back to the first party series, NantenJex gives his thoughts on Spring Man’s chance to Smash:
Verdict:
Ultimately though, Spring Man is still the games Ryu making him the most likely Arms character to appear. He has moveset potential and I am sure Sakurai could work around the balancing issue. It is really just a timing issue that gets in Spring Man’s way. As a new IP things might change mid-development and if this happened while the Smash team were working on Spring Man they may be forced to change or completely scrap all the work they’ve done and this risk may be too high for him to be considered. It really comes down to how Sakurai sees it. — 50%
Next is definitely one of the most divisive characters requested, NantenJex gives his thoughts on Steve? from Minecraft:
Verdict:
Despite negatives, Steve and Minecraft are still iconic and Sakurai is a great designer. If anyone could get Steve to look natural in Smash it would be him. With this in mind and Microsoft’s approval, I have to say Steve is looking likely as one of the next 3rd party characters for Super Smash Bros. — 75%
Finishing off this week we have a popular indie heroine with Wayforward’s Shantae (rated by PushDustIn).
Verdict:
Shantae, and many of the other indie characters, doesn’t have a strong chance to get into Smash. Notoriety, language, and cultural barriers may hold a lot of the smaller characters back. It’s possible that someday that glass ceiling will be broken, but without another character ballot winner, I’m not going to hold my breath. — 35%
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Good RTC article. Here are again my suggestions.
-Dixie Kong (Donkey Kong)
-Medusa (Kid Icarus)
-Parabô and Satebô (Satellaview mascots)
-Anyone from Rhythm Heaven
-Slime (Dragon Quest)
-Anyone from Megami Tensei (including sub-series)
-Shovel Knight (Shovel Knight)
Here are my comments to these characters…
Excite Biker: As I said before, characters who’s mostly riding on vehicles throughout their games is difficult to think of their movesets, which can be said the similar thing to characters from Star Fox and F-Zero. But even then, I think there are slight possibilities of what both Excite Biker and Mach Rider can do to differentiate each other, like Excite Biker focusing on tricks as attacks, while Mach Rider focuses on weapons and machines installed in his bike.
Quote: To be honest, I really don’t know much about Quote since Cave Story’s not in my knowledge. It would be interesting to see Quote in Smash as he now have experience with crossover games like Blade Strangers and Crystal Crisis, but as I could agree with the rating, his chances may be difficult as well due to where he was produced.
Travis Touchdown: Same as Quote, Travis is not in my knowledge list either. At the same time, I don’t think everybody knows this guy either. But since Mr. Suda seems to beg Sakurai so badly for Travis to be in Smash as he’s always expressing it in public, I think there’s a better chance.
Spring Man: Many people prefer Min Min the most, but since I don’t believe popularity is the most important criteria for bringing someone to Smash, I prefer Spring Man the best as he’s the main face of ARMS. But as Mr. Yabuki answered through the interview, I think bringing somebody from ARMS maybe too late at this moment because of when the game was developed. But if DLC is considered, then there may be his chance as well.
Steve: Smash already have generic avatar characters, starting from the now retired Pokemon Trainer to the recent Animal Crossing’s Villager, so Steve’s chances isn’t impossible. While Microsoft is still Nintendo’s rival, I wouldn’t think they’ll refuse the offer since they’ve brought Minecraft to Nintendo’s hardware, so I think they’re open for this case.
Shantae: Definitely, I would like to see Shantae being in Smash. She has been in many crossover games, and even her popularity has grown well in Japan. But as I must agree with the ratings, the possibilities may be difficult. Even Wayfoward is willing to have Shantae into Smash, asking permission may be difficult for Sakurai when it comes to traveling, since most indies are made in the west. This could said the same thing to Shovel Knight, but I will comment that later on…